a few b+w's from my first wedding

snow patrol · 6 Oct 2011 at 13:00

hi all, i got talked into doing a last minute wedding a few weeks ago (literally had about a week to 'prepare' for it). I've never done one before, and i made this completely clear to the couple...ie that whilst i might get some good shots, i had no experience and so could only promise to do my best. Any way, i've processed a few black and whites, as that's what they mainly wanted.

Unfortunately, i've since discovered that the 24-70 2.8 nikon i'd bought a week or so prior to the wedding seems to be a slightly soft copy (taking back to the shop later!!) and to be honest i wish i'd have made more use of my 50mm 1.4 which is lovely and sharp. Any way, here's a few shots - please give me a bit of feedback if poss

overall i enjoyed it - though looking back, i realise how many mistakes i made and what i wish i'd have done differently etc etc. I think i'm going to be on the hunt for an 85mm 1.4 in the near-ish future! And something to command my off camera flash other than my pop up - as too often it wasn't in a clear line of site and failed to fire, which was annoying.

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snow patrol · 6 Oct 2011 at 13:01

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koolpc · 6 Oct 2011 at 13:03

Some lovely shots there. Cant critic them as i wouldn't know what to say! Really like them mate. Bet the B&G love them

monkeypants · 6 Oct 2011 at 13:19

Really like them, a few things I don't like so much:

The blown highlight in #2 overwhelms the image, but it looks like you were shooting from an awkward viewpoint so I guess the image is a compromise.

#10 - the mother of the bride won't thank you for that! haha

#11 could do with the photographer in the background being removed, he's a bit distracting.

#12 and 13 are my favourites, just because of the subject isolation. How did you light them?

Overall I'm impressed and inspired, I'd like to start doing weddings. What camera did you use? I can't tell your lens is soft, they all look good quality to me.

An Exception · 6 Oct 2011 at 13:24

Nice expressions all round, overall a lovely set of images.
Once thing I would say is, maybe you wait until the Bride is just applying finishing touches before you shoot her preparation, maybe ask the person who's doing her makeup etc to let you know when she's almost done.

I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, so take what I say with a pinch of salt.

bigredshark · 6 Oct 2011 at 13:26

I think they could all do with half a stop of neg exposure compensation to be honest, lots of highlights blown there....not half bad otherwise though

An Exception · 6 Oct 2011 at 13:27

monkeypants said:
#10 - the mother of the bride won't thank you for that! haha

Lol, I didn't notice that first time around, maybe Op could use a tighter crop, or maybe he can super impose her face from a similar frame.

snow patrol · 6 Oct 2011 at 13:29

thanks guys - just sent off a dvd with about 280 odd b+w images to the b+g.

monkey - yeah, with regards to no2 i was shooting through an open window with the netting billowing in and out, thought it might be an 'arty/interesting' type shot', a bit marmite though, i realise.

Have ummed and arred about taking the photographer in 11 out of the image, but yeah, you're probably right.

With regards to gear, i was primarily using a d700 and 24-70 nikon lens. But i had my d90 as back up and i took some shots with an 85mm 1.8 and 11-16 on those.

For the lighting on the dance floor i used a single sb700 flash firing through an umbrella on a stand, and just kept moving the umbrella around really. I was limited though because i had to use my pop up flash to command the sb700, so i needed to be behind the umbrella really.

snow patrol · 6 Oct 2011 at 13:32

bigredshark said:
I think they could all do with half a stop of neg exposure compensation to be honest, lots of highlights blown there....not half bad otherwise though

before i did the shoot, i looked through a load of wedding photographs and noticed that the ones i liked the most seemed to not mind about blowing windows etc etc as long as they got the faces / important bits ok. I'm fairly sure the dress/faces aren't blown in any of these images (checked in lightroom), although i realise there are other blown areas. But this was done as an artistic choice.

koolpc · 6 Oct 2011 at 13:40

Most important thing is that the B%G are happy with the shots. Guess it is a learning curve and good luck to you. I like them.

bigredshark · 6 Oct 2011 at 15:17

snow patrol said:
before i did the shoot, i looked through a load of wedding photographs and noticed that the ones i liked the most seemed to not mind about blowing windows etc etc as long as they got the faces / important bits ok. I'm fairly sure the dress/faces aren't blown in any of these images (checked in lightroom), although i realise there are other blown areas. But this was done as an artistic choice.

Fair enough, your style is your choice. To my eye the dress is either blown or close enough to it you can't see detail in a few of them (5, 9, 10, 13, 14 from a glance...). Your call though, if you're happy!

snow patrol · 6 Oct 2011 at 15:27

bigredshark said:
Fair enough, your style is your choice. To my eye the dress is either blown or close enough to it you can't see detail in a few of them (5, 9, 10, 13, 14 from a glance...). Your call though, if you're happy!

I can see where you're coming from, but with the exception of no5, there are no blinkies showing on the dress when i check in lightroom... :confused:

Andy90 · 6 Oct 2011 at 18:32

No.4 is epic. If she is ever in any doubt about how much he loves her all she will have to do is look at that shot. Superb.

Mint_Sauce · 6 Oct 2011 at 19:51

Great job, you got some really nice shots!